House Cleaning...Northern Flcker Leaves the Nest with a Fecal Sac..

Description

We never think of animals doing routine house cleaning do we...but birds that nest in cavities need to preform a basic "cleaning" in order to keep the nest habitable...Here is a description from Audubon...a fecal sac...A nestling turns its rear end to mom or dad and ejects a floppy white bag of poop encased in mucous: a fecal sac. The parent then flies away to dispose of it. Or scarfs it down as a snack. This is a Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker exiting from its nest carrying away one of her chicks sacs! I discovered her nesting location by accident, and have visited briefly twice, leaving her to raise her young successfully I hope!

Taken By

Greg McIntosh

Taken On

June 8, 2021

Tagged

fecal sac flicker northern ontario eastern forest woodpecker nature wildlife bird